Do you know the history of this Heart of Westport neighborhood block?

The 3900 block of Central is near the corner of Broadway and Westport Road, where the Corner Restaurant now stands. In the 1940s, when this photo was taken, the building appeared to house the headquarters for a Jackson County Sheriff candidate.

This post from our archives (originally posted in March of 2016) features homes on the 3900 block of Central in the Heart of Westport neighborhood. Central Street is just one block east of Broadway.

The 3900 block of Central in 1895.

Here’s what we know about the block so far. Reader Janet Pickett says she grew up on the block.

“I watched the city tear down 8 or 10 houses and build the Westport Station post office,” she wrote. “My house was torn down in the early 70’s for a parking lot. When we first moved there, there was a Hallmark card factory next door to our house. Hallmark’s address was, I think, was 3954 Central.”

The Sanborn Fire Insurance map from 1895 shows most of the homes on the west side of Central had been built before the turn of the century.

The Sanborn Fire Insurance map from 1909 shows a few more homes were built in the first decade of the 20th century.

The 1909-1950 map of the block.

Our slide show (below) shows all of the houses on the west side of the block as they looked in 1940. Unfortunately, the 1940 photos of the east side of the block are not available at the Kansas City Public Library.

We also couldn’t find much else out about the block.

So we’d like to hear what you remember of this block. We’ll share your history and help to preserve it on our website.

Maps and photos courtesy Kansas City Public Library Missouri Valley Special Collections.

Pre-order our new book,Kansas City’s Historic Midtown Neighborhoods, now. Publication date is March 16. Let us know if you want us to come to your neighborhood association or organization’s meeting to share what we’ve learned about Midtown neighborhood history and tell your members how they can help preserve Midtown history.Order the book